28 Week Andaluz Visit

by Amy Hoffman

Matthew and I met with Dana today at Andaluz. Dana was our midwife at Matthew’s birth and she has been seeing me for prenatal visits this time around too.

Today’s visit wasn’t an official prenatal appointment. I had my blood drawn to check my thyroid and iron levels, and to get a complete blood count. So far I have been able to remain on the same thyroid dose I was taking pre-pregnancy. With Matthew, I had to take an increased dosage. I also picked up a glucose monitor and will test my blood for a week, in lieu of drinking the glucose solution and having my blood drawn.

I did the regular glucose test with Matthew and felt pretty horrible afterward. I feel confident about testing my blood on my own and if anything looks high, I’ll do the glucose test. I’m supposed to do three fasting blood draws (first thing in the morning), three blood draws one hour after I’ve eaten, and three blood draws two hours after I’ve eaten. Should be pretty easy and I’m expecting everything to be normal.

Our next prenatal appointment will be in two weeks with Tracy. I’ve seen her one time so far. Katie is the other midwife who is taking care of me and either she or Tracy will be the “official” midwife at Baby Brother’s birth. I had been a little bit sad thinking that Dana might not be available to be our midwife (at our first visit, she said she was thinking of going back to school to earn an advanced degree). Today she told me that her plans have changed and while she won’t be going back to school, she won’t be working at Andaluz after July. But she said she wants to be at the birth and be involved. She told the other midwives to call her when I go into labor so she can be there. I could not be happier. Love her so much.

We did get to hear Baby Brother’s heartbeat today and it sounded steady and strong, as always. I love hearing it. Matthew was up on the bed with me and he grinned really big when we heard the heartbeat. He is going to be the best big brother EVER.